Yes - he did.
I read it as well (although it was after he’d told me about it)
I’m sure he posted it on here as well, as I’ve read it and I don’t get the mags.
Salut, David.
Spardo:
I’m sure he posted it on here as well, as I’ve read it and I don’t get the mags.Salut, David.
I did, and there was also the time that I tried to catch Dr. John’s wrecker, dragging an empty Sed-Ak double drive unit/tautliner combination, and the Diesel ■■■■■■ made hard work of that!
marky:
Dr. John put turbochagers on some of his 8-cylinder Gardners - despite Gardners saying it couldn’t be done at the time.Eric Vick did the same and it pushed the power up to around 290-300 bhp. 240 will tell you of the time he was shown a clean pair of heels by a Killingbeck example when he was in a bobtail F12.
The Harrison Scammell that became a 6x2 had a 6-cylinder Gardner in it - I presume it was a doctored 150 that made it into a 180 by uprating the pump, but doubtless someone else can confirm or deny this.
I don’t think that Dr. John did any blower conversions on Mk.2s, as there wasn’t any room under the cab. I’ve a recollection that the first one he did was NSA 181P (memory open to question!), which was a Sed-Ak rigid converted to a double-drive unit in the same was as his Mk/2 conversions.
I’m fairly confident that the Mk.2 that got the better of my F12 was a straightforward 240 (plus!) 8LXB.
The turbo Gardner conversion was, I believe, first tried out by a PSV operator in the 1950s, and Gardner most certainly did NOT approve in thise days!!
Also, I think that the Scammell third axle job at Harrisons was for cheaper axle-based tax, plus having a margin to prevent driver axle and GVW overloading of the tractor itself
240 Gardner:
I don’t think that Dr. John did any blower conversions on Mk.2s, as there wasn’t any room under the cab. I’ve a recollection that the first one he did was NSA 181P (memory open to question!), which was a Sed-Ak rigid converted to a double-drive unit in the same was as his Mk/2 conversions.I’m fairly confident that the Mk.2 that got the better of my F12 was a straightforward 240 (plus!) 8LXB.
The turbo Gardner conversion was, I believe, first tried out by a PSV operator in the 1950s, and Gardner most certainly did NOT approve in thise days!!
Also, I think that the Scammell third axle job at Harrisons was for cheaper axle-based tax, plus having a margin to prevent driver axle and GVW overloading of the tractor itself
I was led to believe that the second-hand cabs from Ridings were partly to accomodate the blowers due to the limited space under the MkII. Dr. John didn’t really like the steel cabs did he?
I seem to remember readind somewhere (it could well have been in Graham Edge’s book about Gardners) that the PSV operator who did the turbo adaptation was in Belgium, and that the engine was one built under licence over there. I know someone built Gardners in Europe(licenced by Patricroft) but can’t remember who.
marky:
I was led to believe that the second-hand cabs from Ridings were partly to accomodate the blowers due to the limited space under the MkII. Dr. John didn’t really like the steel cabs did he?I seem to remember readind somewhere (it could well have been in Graham Edge’s book about Gardners) that the PSV operator who did the turbo adaptation was in Belgium, and that the engine was one built under licence over there. I know someone built Gardners in Europe(licenced by Patricroft) but can’t remember who.
Fibreglass rules then! When you see the amount of tin rot at, for example, on some of the old units at Rush Green you have to be thankful someone at Jennings or whoever decided to go plastic!
Im sure ive heard a continental company made Gardners under licence too - dont think it would have been Willeme, they had AEC licences IIRC. Bernard had links with Mack. Stumped…
"marky:
I was led to believe that the second-hand cabs from Ridings were partly to accomodate the blowers due to the limited space under the MkII. Dr. John didn’t really like the steel cabs did he?I seem to remember readind somewhere (it could well have been in Graham Edge’s book about Gardners) that the PSV operator who did the turbo adaptation was in Belgium, and that the engine was one built under licence over there. I know someone built Gardners in Europe(licenced by Patricroft) but can’t remember who.
Would it have been Bernhard? (or similar)
A dim distant recollection suggests that the PSV operator might have been someone like Northampton Corporation. I’m sure an older b*s enthusiast would know.
John always seemed a bit defensive about the steel cabs - he called them his Atkinson Mk.3s, and said that he used them to “update” his fleet. Whether that was to appease drivers or customers, I don’t know. It seemed a lot of work for, in some cases, relatively short working lives.
The only one I ever drove, over a very short distance, was something of a challenge - even when compared with JRN, or a 1934 Beaver or even Yates’s 1920 Lancia!
Oh god, Harrisons, what memories of them, we used to run stocksbridge from time to tiem, and they did a lot of stell to the west midlands. It was great to see their drivers in the Handyman’s with their ear defenders on! Made our buffalo’s seem like complete luxury! LOL!
I loaded a box at a scrap yard just down fdrom their yard the other year and I think the yard looked a bit gloomy, another one bites the dust?
The Harrison situation was the subject of much debate at a gathering on Saturday night.
Many people were confused regarding the status of the operation, as it had been widely publicised that there was to be an auction on the site. I’ve certainly never read anything (after the fact) about the auction, so I don’t know whether it actually took place.
Does anyone on here know if the auction was held and if so, was the operational fleet included?
Mal:
It was great to see their drivers in the Handyman’s with their ear defenders on! ! LOL!?
At the risk of being jumped on by Marky 
, did you not mean Highwaymans(men?) Mal 
?
And why would they need ear defenders with (most of) the engine out in front? I remember mine as being acceptably quiet. Maybe it was because I was comparing it to all the in-cab lumps around in the 70s 
.
Unless they did have Handymans(men?) that I never noticed 
in which case ignore all of the above 
.
Salut, David.
Nah - we all knew what Mal meant; I don’t care if you don’t David 
I’d still like to know what happened at the auction (if indeed it actually took place)
I probabaly did mean Highwayman Dave! , but Im not accurate on names I just know what they ran, them red bonneted things! Onr thing Im certain about though, is seeing blokes with factory type ear defenders in them from time to time. Maybe they had a walkman earphones in the things? I did that in a noisy place and it works!
marky:
Nah - we all knew what Mal meant; I don’t care if you don’t David
Hehe! Nice one Marky!
killsville:
Warrior:
are they still running the old scammels havent seen much of them lately.I heard that one of them was still running - but only on local work. Don’t know how true this is though. I certainly haven’t seen any on the road for a few months now.
I did talk to one of harrisons drivers 6/7 yrs ago while tipping steel rods in atherton m/c he told me that non of the scammells were scrapped but stripped restored and put in his own museum.He was driving one at the time
Looked in at Harrison’s on my way back from a meeting in Leeds last month; asked the guy on the car sales pitch at the front if I could take a couple of pics of the old Scammells (saw at least two in the yard, and a Foden in one of the sheds) but he said no; not unfriendly, just that I’d have to clear it with one of the owners, who weren’t about.
The yard’s still full of old trailers, etc, though the old steam loco that was on a low-loader a few years ago seems to have gone. No sign of any activity, I think some O/D’s must park there as there were a few around; possibly why matey didn’t want me looking round which is fair enough.
gnasty gnome:
Looked in at Harrison’s on my way back from a meeting in Leeds last month; asked the guy on the car sales pitch at the front if I could take a couple of pics of the old Scammells (saw at least two in the yard, and a Foden in one of the sheds) but he said no; not unfriendly, just that I’d have to clear it with one of the owners, who weren’t about.The yard’s still full of old trailers, etc, though the old steam loco that was on a low-loader a few years ago seems to have gone. No sign of any activity, I think some O/D’s must park there as there were a few around; possibly why matey didn’t want me looking round which is fair enough.
The trls you mention.Rumour had it 6/7 yrsf ago that they were bought at auction but never used.I used to load regular at templeborough rolling millsin them days and the trls.looked in good nick then.They were all crane frauhaufs which were a good make.
Did I dream it or did Harrisons run one of the Scammells as a 6x2 twin steer? At what weight would that been, was it for the old 5 axle 32 tons of the early 70s/late 60s? or was it a 38 tonner??
That Foden in their yards been there 30 years odd in Primer then!!
ghinzani:
Did I dream it or did Harrisons run one of the Scammells as a 6x2 twin steer? At what weight would that been, was it for the old 5 axle 32 tons of the early 70s/late 60s? or was it a 38 tonner??That Foden in their yards been there 30 years odd in Primer then!!
They ran some with a pusher axle conversion, rather than a second steer. This was for running at 32 tons in the early/mid 80s (they couldn’t be operated above that) on 5 axles for reduced tax.
Apparently, it was quite a simple conversion, as all the ones converted were on a long wheelbase and so no stretching was needed
240 Gardner:
ghinzani:
Did I dream it or did Harrisons run one of the Scammells as a 6x2 twin steer? At what weight would that been, was it for the old 5 axle 32 tons of the early 70s/late 60s? or was it a 38 tonner??That Foden in their yards been there 30 years odd in Primer then!!
They ran some with a pusher axle conversion, rather than a second steer. This was for running at 32 tons in the early/mid 80s (they couldn’t be operated above that) on 5 axles for reduced tax.
Apparently, it was quite a simple conversion, as all the ones converted were on a long wheelbase and so no stretching was needed
So thats the non-driven axle sat in front of the drive axle or behind a la those rear lift type things that were so popular in the early 80’s? Actually I’m sure it was in a copy of one of the old Lorry magazines a while back, possibly when one of the brothers passed away.
Any ideas if that Foden ever came out of primer and was actually used on the road?
They were mid-mounted pushers - in front of the drive axle.
One of the Fodens was put on the road, but when it was found to be less economical than the existing Scammells doing the same work, the others were left in factory primer and never registered. They are still there, and as has been the case with enquiries for other items belonging to Harrisons, they are not for sale at the present moment.
I have been told that Harrisons have never, EVER sold a vehicle that saw service with them and that there are over sixty Scammells still in their ownership. This is unconfirmed, but highly likely.